Techniques to control a driving behavior of a vehicle when a failure occurs

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described to enable a vehicle, such as an autonomous vehicle, to steer and/or apply brakes on a road when a failure condition occurs. An example method for autonomous driving operation includes receiving a reduced set of location information that describes a location of the autonomous vehicle on a road; receiving a reduced set of trajectory information where the autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven; determining a driving path information where the autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven; and in response to determining an occurrence of a fault condition: sending a first instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to steer the autonomous vehicle using at least the driving path information and the reduced set of location information, and sending a second instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to apply brakes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to systems, apparatus, and methods to enable avehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to control a driving behavior(e.g., steer and/or apply brakes) when a system and/or a device failureoccurs in the vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Autonomous vehicle navigation is a technology that can allow a vehicleto sense the position and movement of vehicles around an autonomousvehicle and, based on the sensing, control the autonomous vehicle tosafely navigate towards a destination. An autonomous vehicle may controlthe steering angle, a throttle amount to control the speed of theautonomous vehicle, gear changes, and/or a breaking amount to controlthe extent to which the brakes are engaged. An autonomous vehicle mayoperate in several modes. In some cases, an autonomous vehicle may allowa driver to operate the autonomous vehicle as a conventional vehicle bycontrolling the steering, throttle, clutch, gear shifter, and/or otherdevices. In other cases, a driver may engage the autonomous vehiclenavigation technology to allow the vehicle to be driven by itself.

SUMMARY

Techniques are described to enable a vehicle, such as an autonomousvehicle, to steer and/or apply brakes on a road when a failure conditionoccurs.

An example system for autonomous driving operation comprises anautonomous vehicle that includes a first computer and a second computer.The first computer includes a first processor configured to: obtain,from a set of location information that describes a location of theautonomous vehicle on a road, a reduced set of location information forthe location of the autonomous vehicle; obtain, from a set of trajectoryinformation that includes a set of location data associated with aplurality of points on the road where the autonomous vehicle is expectedto be driven, a reduced set of trajectory information that includes areduced set of location data associated with the plurality of points;and send the reduced set of location information and the reduced set oftrajectory information to the second computer located in the autonomousvehicle. The second computer comprises a second processor configured to:receive the reduced set of location information and the reduced set oftrajectory information; determine a driving path information where theautonomous vehicle is expected to be driven on the road based on thereduced set of trajectory information; and in response to adetermination of an occurrence of a fault condition that indicates afailure of one or more devices on the autonomous vehicle: send a firstinstruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to steer the autonomousvehicle according to the driving path information and the reduced set oflocation information of the location of the autonomous vehicle, and senda second instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to apply brakes.

In some embodiments, for each point in the set of trajectory informationand the reduced set of trajectory information, a size of location dataassociated with one point in the set of trajectory information isgreater than that of a corresponding point in the reduced set oftrajectory information. In some embodiments, the reduced set of locationinformation include a longitude value, a latitude reference value, andan altitude value obtained from the set of location information, andeach of the longitude value, the latitude reference value, and thealtitude value is associated with a pre-determined numericalcharacteristic. In some embodiments, the pre-determined numericalcharacteristic includes a whole number or a number with n-decimalplaces, where n is greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, theset of location information describes the location of the autonomousvehicle using cartesian coordinates, and the reduced set of locationinformation is obtained by a conversion performed on the set of locationinformation from the cartesian coordinates to spherical coordinates.

In some embodiments, the reduced set of location information is sent tothe second computer in a first set of data frames at a firstpre-determined frequency, and the reduced set of trajectory informationis sent to the second computer in a second set of data frames at asecond pre-determined frequency. In some embodiments, the secondpre-determined frequency is greater than the first pre-determinedfrequency. In some embodiments, each data frame in the second set ofdata frames includes one or more locations from the reduced set oflocation data and one or more index values corresponding to the one ormore locations. In some embodiments, a total number of the plurality ofpoints is pre-determined, and the total number of the plurality ofpoints is sent to the second computer. In some embodiments, the reducedset of location information and the reduced set of trajectoryinformation includes geographic information with a precision that isless than that of the set of location information and the set oftrajectory information, respectively.

An example computer located in an autonomous vehicle comprises aprocessor, configured to implement a method comprising: receive, fromanother computer located in the autonomous vehicle, a reduced set oflocation information that describes a location of the autonomous vehicleon a road, where the reduced set of location information includesinformation that is less than that associated with a set of locationinformation for the location of the autonomous vehicle; receive, fromthe another computer, a reduced set of trajectory information thatincludes a reduced set of location data associated with a plurality ofpoints on the road where the autonomous vehicle is expected to bedriven, where the reduced set of trajectory information includesinformation that is less than that associated with a set of trajectoryinformation that includes a set of location data associated with theplurality of points; determine a driving path information where theautonomous vehicle is expected to be driven on the road based on thereduced set of trajectory information; and in response to adetermination of an occurrence of a fault condition that indicates afailure of one or more devices on the autonomous vehicle: send a firstinstruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to steer the autonomousvehicle according to the driving path information and the reduced set oflocation information of the location of the autonomous vehicle, and senda second instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to apply brakes.

In some embodiments, the reduced set of location data in the reduced setof trajectory information is determined based on the location of theautonomous vehicle and the set of location data associated with theplurality of points in the set of trajectory information. In someembodiments, the reduced set of location data in the reduced set oftrajectory information describe, for each point, a position informationof a point relative to the location of the autonomous vehicle. In someembodiments, the driving path information includes a set of positioninformation along a fitted line that fits the plurality of pointsassociated with the reduced set of trajectory, the fitted line isdetermined by an application of an n-th order polynomial to the reducedset of trajectory information, and a value for n is pre-determined. Insome embodiments, the processor of the computer is configured todetermine that the fault condition occurs in response to a reception ofa message that indicates that images or sensor data are not receivedfrom a plurality of cameras on the autonomous vehicle.

An example non-transitory computer readable program storage mediumincludes code stored thereon, the code, when executed by a processor,causing the processor to implement a method comprising: receiving, fromanother computer located in the autonomous vehicle, a reduced set oflocation information that describes a location of the autonomous vehicleon a road, where the reduced set of location information includesinformation that is less than that associated with a set of locationinformation for the location of the autonomous vehicle; receiving, fromthe another computer, a reduced set of trajectory information thatincludes a reduced set of location data associated with a plurality ofpoints on the road where the autonomous vehicle is expected to bedriven, where the reduced set of trajectory information includesinformation that is less than that associated with a set of trajectoryinformation that includes a set of location data associated with theplurality of points; determining a driving path information where theautonomous vehicle is expected to be driven on the road based on thereduced set of trajectory information; and in response to determining anoccurrence of a fault condition that indicates a failure of one or moredevices on the autonomous vehicle: sending a first instruction to causethe autonomous vehicle to steer the autonomous vehicle according to thedriving path information and the reduced set of location information ofthe location of the autonomous vehicle, and sending a second instructionto cause the autonomous vehicle to apply brakes.

In some embodiments, a steering angle with which the autonomous vehicleis steered is included in the first instruction to cause the autonomousvehicle to steer, and the steering angle is determined based on thedriving path information, the reduced set of location information of thelocation of the autonomous vehicle, a heading of the autonomous vehicle,and a speed of the autonomous vehicle. In some embodiments, the steeringangle is determined using a course correction trajectory informationthat includes a set of points that indicate a trajectory that minimizesa difference between the driving path information and a currenttrajectory of the autonomous vehicle, the current trajectory of theautonomous vehicle is defined by reduced set of location information ofthe autonomous vehicle and the heading of the autonomous vehicle, andthe course correction trajectory information depends on whether thespeed of the autonomous vehicle is greater than or equal to apre-determined threshold.

In some embodiments, a maximum distance between any two points in theplurality of points is pre-determined. In some embodiments, the faultcondition is determined to occur in response to determining that thecomputer has not received the following information for more than apre-determined length of time: another reduced set of locationinformation for another location of the autonomous vehicle on the road,or another reduced set of trajectory information that include anotherset of points on the road where the autonomous vehicle is expected to bedriven.

In yet another exemplary aspect, the above-described method is embodiedin a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising codethat when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform themethods described in this patent document.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, a device that is configured oroperable to perform the above-described methods is disclosed.

The above and other aspects and their implementations are described ingreater detail in the drawings, the descriptions, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of an example vehicle ecosystem.

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of an electronic control unit (ECU) in avehicle.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of operations performed to control a vehicle bygenerating a brake command and/or steering command when a failurecondition occurs.

FIG. 3 shows an example scenario where a vehicle is steered to a drivingpath.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of operations performed by an example system tocontrol a vehicle when a failure condition occurs.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart for controlling a vehicle when a failurecondition occurs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An autonomous vehicle may include several subsystems that can enable theautonomous vehicle to be driven on a road. For example, a vehicle sensorsubsystem can enable the autonomous vehicle to obtain sensor data aboutthe environment in which the autonomous vehicle is being driven. Thesensors on the autonomous vehicle may include cameras, LiDAR, RADAR,inertial measurement unit (IMU), etc. Other subsystems on the autonomousvehicle include brakes, transmission, steering system, etc., that enablethe autonomous vehicle to be driven autonomously. In some cases, a partof a subsystem (e.g., transmission) or the entire subsystem (e.g., allcameras) may experience a fault or failure condition such that theautonomous vehicle may not be able to safely operate on the road. Atleast in such failure conditions, which could be considered severe orcritical failure conditions, the autonomous vehicle should steer and/orapply brakes so that the autonomous vehicle can safely stop theautonomous vehicle. This patent document describes systems, apparatus,and methods to enable a vehicle (e.g., an autonomous vehicle) to steerand/or apply brakes when a failure condition occurs.

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of an example vehicle ecosystem 100 inwhich an in-vehicle control computer 150 located in the autonomousvehicle 105 can send to an electronic control unit (ECU) the autonomousvehicle's 105 location and trajectory where the autonomous vehicle 105is expected to be driven. At least this information can enable the ECUto send instructions to the autonomous vehicle 105 to steer and/or applybrakes when a failure occurs. As shown in FIG. 1A, the autonomousvehicle 105 may be a semi-trailer truck. The vehicle ecosystem 100includes several systems and components that can generate and/or deliverone or more sources of information/data and related services to thein-vehicle control computer 150 that may be located in an autonomousvehicle 105. The in-vehicle control computer 150 can be in datacommunication with a plurality of vehicle subsystems 140, all of whichcan be resident in the autonomous vehicle 105. The in-vehicle computer150 and the plurality of vehicle subsystems 140 can be referred to asautonomous driving system (ADS). A vehicle subsystem interface 160 isprovided to facilitate data communication between the in-vehicle controlcomputer 150 and the plurality of vehicle subsystems 140. In someembodiments, the vehicle subsystem interface 160 can include acontroller area network (CAN) controller to communicate with devices inthe vehicle subsystems 140.

The autonomous vehicle 105 may include various vehicle subsystems thatsupport the operation of autonomous vehicle 105. The vehicle subsystemsmay include a vehicle drive subsystem 142, a vehicle sensor subsystem144, and/or a vehicle control subsystem 146. The components or devicesof the vehicle drive subsystem 142, the vehicle sensor subsystem 144,and the vehicle control subsystem 146 as shown as examples. In someembodiment, additional components or devices can be added to the varioussubsystems. Alternatively, in some embodiments, one or more componentsor devices can be removed from the various subsystems. The vehicle drivesubsystem 142 may include components operable to provide powered motionfor the autonomous vehicle 105. In an example embodiment, the vehicledrive subsystem 142 may include an engine or motor, wheels/tires, atransmission, an electrical subsystem, and a power source.

The vehicle sensor subsystem 144 may include a number of sensorsconfigured to sense information about an environment in which theautonomous vehicle 105 is operating or a condition of the autonomousvehicle 105. The vehicle sensor subsystem 144 may include one or morecameras or image capture devices, one or more temperature sensors, aninertial measurement unit (IMU), a Global Positioning System (GPS)device, a laser range finder/LiDAR unit, a RADAR unit, and/or a wirelesscommunication unit (e.g., a cellular communication transceiver). Thevehicle sensor subsystem 144 may also include sensors configured tomonitor internal systems of the autonomous vehicle 105 (e.g., an O₂monitor, a fuel gauge, an engine oil temperature, etc.,). In someembodiments, the vehicle sensor subsystem 144 may include sensors inaddition to the sensors shown in FIG. 1A.

The IMU may include any combination of sensors (e.g., accelerometers andgyroscopes) configured to sense position and orientation changes of theautonomous vehicle 105 based on inertial acceleration. The GPS devicemay be any sensor configured to estimate a geographic location of theautonomous vehicle 105. For this purpose, the GPS device may include areceiver/transmitter operable to provide information regarding theposition of the autonomous vehicle 105 with respect to the Earth. TheRADAR unit may represent a system that utilizes radio signals to senseobjects within the environment in which the autonomous vehicle 105 isoperating. In some embodiments, in addition to sensing the objects, theRADAR unit may additionally be configured to sense the speed and theheading of the objects proximate to the autonomous vehicle 105. Thelaser range finder or LiDAR unit may be any sensor configured to senseobjects in the environment in which the autonomous vehicle 105 islocated using lasers. The cameras may include one or more camerasconfigured to capture a plurality of images of the environment of theautonomous vehicle 105. The cameras may be still image cameras or motionvideo cameras.

The vehicle control subsystem 146 may be configured to control operationof the autonomous vehicle 105 and its components. Accordingly, thevehicle control subsystem 146 may include various elements such as athrottle and gear, a brake unit, a navigation unit, a steering systemand/or an electronic control unit (ECU) 148. The throttle may beconfigured to control, for instance, the operating speed of the engineand, in turn, control the speed of the autonomous vehicle 105. The gearmay be configured to control the gear selection of the transmission. Thebrake unit can include any combination of mechanisms configured todecelerate the autonomous vehicle 105. The brake unit can use frictionto slow the wheels in a standard manner. The brake unit may include anAnti-lock brake system (ABS) that can prevent the brakes from locking upwhen the brakes are applied. The navigation unit may be any systemconfigured to determine a driving path or route for the autonomousvehicle 105. The navigation unit may additionally be configured toupdate the driving path dynamically while the autonomous vehicle 105 isin operation. In some embodiments, the navigation unit may be configuredto incorporate data from the GPS device and one or more predeterminedmaps so as to determine the driving path for the autonomous vehicle 105.The steering system may represent any combination of mechanisms that maybe operable to adjust the heading of autonomous vehicle 105 in anautonomous mode or in a driver-controlled mode.

The electronic control unit (ECU) 148 may be configured to control theautonomous vehicle 105 for operation without a driver or to providedriver assistance in controlling the autonomous vehicle 105. In someembodiments, the ECU 148 may be configured to incorporate data from theGPS device, the RADAR, the LiDAR, the cameras, and/or other vehiclesubsystems to determine the driving path or trajectory or drivingrelated operation (e.g., steering or braking) for the autonomous vehicle105. In some embodiments, the ECU 148 may represent a control systemconfigured to identify, evaluate, avoid and/or otherwise negotiatepotential obstacles in the environment of the autonomous vehicle 105.

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of the ECU 148. The ECU 148 may include amemory 148A that may contain processing instructions executable by themicrocontroller or processor 148B to perform various methods and/orfunctions of the ECU, including those described for the drivingoperation module 148D and the path planning module 148E as explained inthis patent document. The ECU 148 may include a CAN controller 148C withwhich the ECU 148 can communicate with the various devices/subsystems inthe vehicle 105. The ECU may also be referred to as a vehicle controlunit (VCU) that may be purchased from commercial automotive partssuppliers. The ECU may be referred to as a computer and may performoperations described in FIG. 4 (e.g., operations 408-412) and in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1A, the vehicle control subsystem 140 may also include atraction control system (TCS). The TCS may represent a control systemconfigured to prevent the autonomous vehicle 105 from swerving or losingcontrol while on the road. For example, TCS may obtain signals from theIMU and the engine torque value to determine whether it should interveneand send instruction to one or more brakes on the autonomous vehicle 105to mitigate the autonomous vehicle 105 swerving. TCS is an activevehicle safety feature designed to help vehicles make effective use oftraction available on the road, for example, when accelerating onlow-friction road surfaces. When a vehicle without TCS attempts toaccelerate on a slippery surface like ice, snow, or loose gravel, thewheels can slip and can cause a dangerous driving situation. TCS mayalso be referred to as electronic stability control (ESC) system.

Many or all of the functions of the autonomous vehicle 105 can becontrolled by the in-vehicle control computer 150. The in-vehiclecontrol computer 150 may include at least one processor 170 (which caninclude at least one microprocessor) that executes processinginstructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, suchas the memory 175. The in-vehicle control computer 150 may alsorepresent a plurality of computing devices that may serve to controlindividual components or subsystems of the autonomous vehicle 105 in adistributed fashion. In some embodiments, the memory 175 may containprocessing instructions (e.g., program logic) executable by theprocessor 170 to perform various methods and/or functions of theautonomous vehicle 105, including those described for the sensor dataprocessing module 165 as explained in this patent document. For example,the processor 170 of the in-vehicle control computer 150 and may performoperations described in FIG. 4 (e.g., operations 402-406).

The memory 175 may contain additional instructions as well, includinginstructions to transmit data to, receive data from, interact with, orcontrol one or more of the vehicle drive subsystem 142, the vehiclesensor subsystem 144, and the vehicle control subsystem 146. Thein-vehicle control computer 150 may control the function of theautonomous vehicle 105 based on inputs received from various vehiclesubsystems (e.g., the vehicle drive subsystem 142, the vehicle sensorsubsystem 144, and the vehicle control subsystem 146).

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of operations performed by an in-vehiclecontrol computer and an ECU in a vehicle to control a vehicle bygenerating a brake command and/or steering command when a failurecondition occurs. At operation 202, the sensor data processing module(shown as 165 in FIG. 1A) in the in-vehicle control computer 150 mayobtain the vehicle's driving related status and/or the vehicle'strajectory information. The vehicle's driving related status may includeinformation such as the vehicle's current speed, the vehicle's currentlocation that may be obtained from the GPS device in the vehicle, and/orthe vehicle's current heading or direction. In this patent document, theterm “current location” or “current trajectory” of the vehicle can be alocation or a trajectory of a vehicle at one point in time.

The sensor data processing module can determine and obtain the vehicle'strajectory information that may include a plurality of points thatdescribe a trajectory on which the vehicle is expected to drive from acurrent location of the vehicle. For example, a first point to an n-thpoint of the plurality of point can identify GPS locations of points onthe road where the vehicle is expected to drive. The plurality of pointsmay follow a centerline of a lane on which the vehicle is driven and maystart from a current location of the vehicle. Each of the plurality ofpoints may be associated with GPS coordinates (e.g., in X, Y, Zcartesian coordinates format) and an index value. As further explainedin this patent document, the index value associated with each point is abeneficial technical feature that can enable the ECU's path planningmodule (shown as 148E in FIG. 1B) to specifically determine whethertrajectory information associated with one or more points has not beenreceived by the ECU. A maximum distance between two points may bepre-determined (e.g., a maximum of 1-meter between two points). In someembodiment, a total number of the plurality of points may bepredetermined (e.g., 200 points).

At operation 204, the sensor data processing module in the in-vehiclecontrol computer 150 may convert the vehicle's current location and thetrajectory information to formatted location information that can besent to and processed by the ECU. In some embodiments, the sensor dataprocessing module can send the vehicle's current heading to the ECU. Insome embodiments, the ECU's memory (shown as 148A in FIG. 1B) may havelimited storage and/or the microcontroller may have limited processingcapabilities so that the ECU may not be able to process a wealth ofinformation that is usually in GPS coordinates associated with thecurrent location of the vehicle (or a location at one point in time) andthe plurality of points of the trajectory information. For example, thevehicle's current location and each of the plurality of points may beassociated with GPS coordinates that may have up to seven numbers beforea decimal point and up to three numbers after the decimal point forcartesian coordinates (also known as earth-centered, earth-fixed (ECEF)cartesian coordinates), or the GPS coordinates may have up to twelvenumbers after a decimal point for Lat-Long-Height (LLH) coordinates(also known as spherical coordinates). Such values may be provided by asensor data processing module of the in-vehicle control computer afterdetermining a trajectory information. However, the precision offered byGPS coordinates up to, for example, twelve numbers after a decimal pointfor LLH coordinates may not be needed for the vehicle control relatedoperations performed by the driving operation module (shown as 148D inFIG. 1B) of the ECU. Thus, in some embodiments, the sensor dataprocessing module may convert the GPS coordinates to a formattedlocation information that can be received and processed by the ECU. Theformatted location information may include a reduced current location ofthe vehicle and a reduced trajectory information that have geographicinformation with a precision that is reduced compared to the precisionof the geographic information indicated by the vehicle's currentlocation and by the trajectory information.

In some embodiments where the GPS coordinates are LLH coordinates, thesensor data processing module can convert the LLH coordinates tocartesian coordinates for a current location of the vehicle, where thesensor data processing module can round up or down the convertedcartesian coordinates to whole numbers or the sensor data processingmodule can determine that the converted cartesian coordinates can havevalues up to n-digits after the decimal point (e.g., up to two digitsafter the decimal point). In such embodiments, the sensor dataprocessing module can obtain for the vehicle's current location alongitude reference, an altitude reference, and a latitude reference,where each of the longitude reference, the altitude reference, and thelatitude reference can be associated with a pre-determined numericalcharacteristic. For example, the longitude reference can have a wholenumber value from −180 to 180, the attitude reference can have a valuefrom −600 to 4315.05 (and may include n-decimal places (e.g., n isgreater than or equal to 1, or n is equal to 2), and the latitudereference can have a whole number value from −90 to 90. In sensor dataprocessing module can determine position information for each point inthe plurality of points based on the GPS coordinates of each point andbased on the vehicle's current location, where the position informationof each of the plurality of points can be determined relative to thevehicle's current location. The position information of each point maybe in a X-Y cartesian coordinates. For example, the sensor dataprocessing module can determine the position information for each pointin the plurality of points to have a value (or converted GPScoordinates) having a pre-determined numerical characteristic. Forexample, the value for the plurality of points may be between −204.8 and204.8 where the value can have up to two numbers after the decimalpoint. Thus, at operation 204, the sensor data processing module obtainsthe formatted location information that comprises the converted GPScoordinates of the vehicle's current location and/or the positioninformation of each point in the plurality of points.

The sensor data processing module sends the formatted locationinformation to the ECU for further processing. At operation 206, thepath planning module (shown as 148E in FIG. 1B) can receive and performoperations on the formatted location information. In some embodiments,the formatted location information can be sent by the sensor dataprocessing module via a CAN communication bus or another communicationprotocol. In some embodiments, the sensor data processing module cansend the formatted location information in data frames or data packetsat a pre-determined rate, where the data frames or data packets can havea pre-determined amount of data. For example, the sensor data processingmodule can send converted GPS coordinates of the vehicle's currentlocation in two data frames or two packets, where the first data frameor first data packet may include the converted longitude reference, andthe second data frame or second data packet may include the convertedaltitude reference and the converted latitude reference, and where thetwo data frames or two data packets can be sent at a firstpre-determined frequency (e.g., 1 Hz). In this example, the sensor dataprocessing module can send the position information of at least twopoints in the plurality of points in one data frame or one packet, andthe sensor data processing module can sequentially send the positioninformation of the plurality of points at a second pre-determinedfrequency (e.g., 25 Hz). Thus, for example, if a total number ofplurality of points is 200, the second pre-determined frequency is 25Hz, and the first pre-determined frequency is 1 Hz, then the sensor dataprocessing module can send two data frames comprising the converted GPScoordinates of the vehicle's current location once every second, and thesensor data processing module can send position information of 50 pointsevery second (if one data frame or one data packet comprises positioninformation of two points). In this example, the ECU may obtain positioninformation of all 200 points in one second if four data frames are sentat 25 Hz.

The sensor data processing module can send a value (e.g., 200)indicating a total number of the plurality of points in a data framecomprising at least some of the converted GPS coordinates of thevehicle's current location. Information about the total number of theplurality of points can enable the ECU to determine whether it has acomplete set of position information for the plurality of points. Thesensor data processing module transmit a data frame comprising aposition information a point, where the data frame comprises an indexvalue corresponding to that point. The path planning module of the ECUcan determine whether the ECU has received position information for allpoints based on the index value associated with each point and based onthe total number of the plurality of points. In some embodiments, if thepath planning module determine that it has not received a positioninformation associated with an index value of a point, then the pathplanning module can send a message to the sensor data processing modulerequesting a missing position information corresponding to an index,where the sensor data processing module can, upon receiving the message,send the missing position information for the index to the path planningmodule. In some other embodiments, if the path planning moduledetermines that it has not received a position information associatedwith an index value of a point, then the path planning module caninterpolate the missing position information using the positioninformation of at least one point before the point and the positioninformation of at least one point after the point, or the path planningmodule can extrapolate the missing position information using theposition information of at least two points immediately before orimmediately after the point whose position information is missing.

At operation 206, the path planning module can concatenate the positioninformation of the plurality of points to obtain a concatenated set ofpoints. The path planning module can apply an n-th order polynomial(e.g., 10-th order polynomial) to the concatenated set of points toobtain a fitted line that best fits the concatenated set of points. Insome embodiments, the value for n for the n-th order polynomial may bepre-determined (e.g., n=5 or n=10). In some embodiments, using ahigher-order polynomial (e.g., 5th order, 7th order, or 10-th order) istechnically advantageous since it can enable the path planning module todetermine a fitted line for a set of points whose positions varyconsiderably from each other on a road (e.g., on a road with a windingpath). The path planning module can determine a set of positioninformation (e.g., GPS coordinates) associated with points on the fittedline so that the set of position information associated with the fittedline comprise the driving path information on which the vehicle isexpected to be driven.

In some embodiments, the path planning module can re-evaluate the fittedline to remove issues with heading calculations if the points are toocoarse. A technical benefit of using a higher-order polynomial fittedline is that it can be continuous and differentiable so it can smoothout any coarseness that was a result of the approximations to obtain thefitted line.

In some embodiments, operations 202, 204, and 206 are continuouslyperformed so that every certain amount of time (e.g., 4 seconds in theexample mentioned above), the path planning module can have a completeset of position information for the plurality of points with which itcan obtain a driving path information.

At operation 208, if the driving operation module (show as 148D in FIG.1B) of the ECU determines that a fault condition has occurred, thedriving operation module can send instructions to steer and/or to brakevehicle using at least the converted GPS coordinates of the vehicle'scurrent location, the vehicle's heading (that can be obtained from thesensor data processing module), and the driving path information. Thedriving operation module can send instructions to one or more motors inthe steering system to steer the vehicle to be driven along or close toa driving path indicated in the driving path information, and thedriving operation module can send instructions to the actuatorsassociated the brakes to apply brakes to the vehicle as it is beingdriven along or close to the driving path. In some embodiments,instructions to apply the brakes can cause the vehicle to stop on theroad. The operations performed by the driving operation module atoperation 208 is further described in the context of example scenarioshown in FIG. 3 below.

FIG. 3 shows an example scenario where a vehicle 302 is steered to adriving path using converted GPS coordinates of the vehicle's currentlocation and the driving path information 310. In the scenario shown inFIG. 3 , the vehicle 302 is shown as being driven to a left of thecenterline of a lane 304 on a road. The driving path information 310 isdetermined by the path planning module and can generally follow acenterline of the lane 304. In some embodiments, the driving operationmodule can determine the amount of steering (e.g., a steeringangle/offset) to apply based on the converted GPS coordinates of thevehicle's current location, the vehicle's heading, the driving pathinformation, and the current speed of the vehicle 302. The drivingoperation module can obtain the current speed of the vehicle 302 fromthe sensor data processing module. If the driving operation moduledetermines that the current speed of the vehicle 302 is greater than orequal to a pre-determined threshold, then the driving operation modulecan use a pure pursuit controller algorithm to determine the amount ofsteering to apply to direct the vehicle to merge with or come close to(e.g., within a pre-determined distance of) the driving path from thecurrent location of the vehicle. In another example, if the drivingoperation module determines that the current speed of the vehicle 302 isless than a pre-determined threshold, then the driving operation modulecan use a Stanley controller algorithm to determine the amount ofsteering to apply to direct the vehicle to merge with or come close to(e.g., within a pre-determined distance of) the driving path from thecurrent location of the vehicle.

The pure pursuit controller algorithm and the Stanley controlleralgorithm are known algorithms can use the converted GPS coordinates ofthe vehicle's current location, the vehicle's heading (e.g., azimuthinformation), and the driving path information to determine a coursecorrection trajectory 306 or 308 so that the vehicle can be steered onor close to the driving path to minimize the distance between thevehicle 302 and the driving path where the vehicle is expected to bedriven. The course correction trajectory 306 or 308 can include a set ofpoints that minimize a difference between the vehicle's currenttrajectory (which can be described by the vehicle's current location andheading) and the driving path information. The course correctiontrajectory 306 or 308 may be described using GPS coordinates or aminimizing set of distances from the current location of the vehicle 302to the location where the vehicle merges with or is close to the drivingpath where the vehicle is expected to be driven. The driving operationmodule uses the course correction trajectory related information (e.g.,GPS coordinates or minimizing set of distances) to determine a steeringangle to steer the vehicle 302.

The difference between pure pursuit controller algorithm and Stanleycontroller algorithm is that the pure pursuit controller algorithm canprovide a course correction trajectory 306 that gently minimize thedistance between the vehicle's location and the driving path. Comparedto the pure pursuit controller algorithm, the Stanley controlleralgorithm may indicate a course correction trajectory 308 that moreexpeditiously minimize the distance between vehicle's location and thedriving path. Thus, the pure pursuit controller algorithm isadvantageous at higher vehicle speeds when a more gentle correctionshould be applied to steer the vehicle close to or on the driving path,and the Stanley controller algorithm is advantageous at lower vehiclespeeds when the vehicle can be safely steered at greater steering anglesto steer the vehicle close to or on the driving path.

In some other embodiments, if the driving operation module determinesthat the current speed of the vehicle 302 is greater than or equal to apre-determined threshold, then the driving operation module can use theStanley controller algorithm to determine the amount of steering toapply to direct the vehicle to merge with or come close to the drivingpath from the current location of the vehicle. In some otherembodiments, if the driving operation module determines that the currentspeed of the vehicle 302 is less than a pre-determined threshold, thenthe driving operation module can use a pure pursuit controller algorithmto determine the amount of steering to apply to direct the vehicle tomerge with or come close to the driving path from the current locationof the vehicle. This patent document describes for some embodimentstechniques to direct the vehicle to merge with or come close to thedriving path from the current location of the vehicle by using a purepursuit controller algorithm for high-speed steering control strategyand a Stanley controller algorithm for a low-speed steering controlstrategy. In some embodiments, other types of controller algorithms canbe used instead of or along with the pure pursuit controller algorithmand/or Stanley controller algorithm.

In some embodiments, the driving operation module can determine that afault condition has occurred in response to receiving a message from oneor more devices on the vehicle indicating that a fault has occurred. Forexample, the driving operation module can receive a message from thesensor data processing module indicating that multiple cameras (or allcameras) on the vehicle have stopped sending images or sensor data tothe sensor data processing module. In another example, the drivingoperation module can receive a message from the transmission indicatingthat there was a transmission failure. In yet another example, thedriving operation module can determine that a fault condition hasoccurred in response to determining that the path planning module hasnot received the formatted location information from the sensor dataprocessing module for more than a pre-determined length of time (e.g.,for more than two seconds). When the driving operation module determinesthat a fault condition has occurred, the driving operation module canobtain the driving path information corresponding to the most recentcomplete set of position information for the plurality of points.

FIG. 4 shows flowchart of operations performed by an example system tocontrol a vehicle when a failure condition occurs. The example systemincludes a first computer (e.g., in-vehicle control computer 150)located in an autonomous vehicle includes a first processor that can beconfigured to perform operations 402 to 406, and a second computer (or acontroller, such as an ECU 148) located in an autonomous vehicleincludes a second processor that can be configured to perform operations408 to 412.

Operation 402 includes obtaining, from a set of location informationthat describes a location of the autonomous vehicle on a road, a reducedset of location information for the location of the autonomous vehicle.Operation 404 includes obtaining, from a set of trajectory informationthat includes a set of location data associated with a plurality ofpoints on the road where the autonomous vehicle is expected to bedriven, a reduced set of trajectory information that includes a reducedset of location data associated with the plurality of points. Operation406 includes sending the reduced set of location information and thereduced set of trajectory information to a second computer located inthe autonomous vehicle.

Operation 408 includes receiving receive the reduced set of locationinformation and the reduced set of trajectory information. Operation 410includes determining a driving path information where the autonomousvehicle is expected to be driven on the road based on the reduced set oftrajectory information. Operation 412 includes in response todetermining an occurrence of a fault condition that indicates a failureof one or more devices on the autonomous vehicle: sending a firstinstruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to steer the autonomousvehicle according to the driving path information and the reduced set oflocation information of the location of the autonomous vehicle, andsending a second instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to applybrakes.

In some embodiments, for each point in the set of trajectory informationand the reduced set of trajectory information, a size of location dataassociated with one point in the set of trajectory information isgreater than that of a corresponding point in the reduced set oftrajectory information. In some embodiments, the reduced set of locationinformation include a longitude value, a latitude reference value, andan altitude value obtained from the set of location information, andeach of the longitude value, the latitude reference value, and thealtitude value is associated with a pre-determined numericalcharacteristic. In some embodiments, the pre-determined numericalcharacteristic includes a whole number or a number with n-decimalplaces, where n is greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, theset of location information describes the location of the autonomousvehicle using cartesian coordinates, and the reduced set of locationinformation is obtained by a conversion performed on the set of locationinformation from the cartesian coordinates to spherical coordinates.

In some embodiments, the reduced set of location information is sent tothe second computer in a first set of data frames at a firstpre-determined frequency, and the reduced set of trajectory informationis sent to the second computer in a second set of data frames at asecond pre-determined frequency. In some embodiments, the secondpre-determined frequency is greater than the first pre-determinedfrequency. In some embodiments, each data frame in the second set ofdata frames includes one or more locations from the reduced set oflocation data and one or more index values corresponding to the one ormore locations. In some embodiments, a total number of the plurality ofpoints is pre-determined, and the total number of the plurality ofpoints is sent to the second computer. In some embodiments, the reducedset of location information and the reduced set of trajectoryinformation includes geographic information with a precision that isless than that of the set of location information and the set oftrajectory information, respectively.

FIG. 5 shows flowchart for controlling a vehicle when a failurecondition occurs. Operations 502 to 506 can be performed by the ECU 148.Operation 502 includes receiving from another computer located in theautonomous vehicle, a reduced set of location information that describesa location of the autonomous vehicle on a road. The reduced set oflocation information includes information that is less than thatassociated with a set of location information for the location of theautonomous vehicle. Operation 504 includes receiving, from the anothercomputer, a reduced set of trajectory information that includes areduced set of location data associated with a plurality of points onthe road where the autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven. Thereduced set of trajectory information includes information that is lessthan that associated with a set of trajectory information that includesa set of location data associated with the plurality of points.Operation 506 includes determining a driving path information where theautonomous vehicle is expected to be driven on the road based on thereduced set of trajectory information. Operation 508 includes inresponse to determining an occurrence of a fault condition thatindicates a failure of one or more devices on the autonomous vehicle:sending a first instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to steer theautonomous vehicle according to the driving path information and thereduced set of location information of the location of the autonomousvehicle, and sending a second instruction to cause the autonomousvehicle to apply brakes.

In some embodiments, the reduced set of location data in the reduced setof trajectory information is determined based on the location of theautonomous vehicle and the set of location data associated with theplurality of points in the set of trajectory information. In someembodiments, the reduced set of location data in the reduced set oftrajectory information describe, for each point, a position informationof a point relative to the location of the autonomous vehicle. In someembodiments, the driving path information includes a set of positioninformation along a fitted line that fits the plurality of pointsassociated with the reduced set of trajectory, where the fitted line isdetermined by an application of an n-th order polynomial to the reducedset of trajectory information, and where a value for n ispre-determined. In some embodiments, the processor of the computer (orthe second processor of the second computer) is configured to determinethat the fault condition occurs in response to a reception of a messagethat indicates that images or sensor data are not received from aplurality of cameras on the autonomous vehicle.

In some embodiments, a steering angle with which the autonomous vehicleis steered is included in the first instruction to cause the autonomousvehicle to steer, and the steering angle is determined based on thedriving path information, the reduced set of location information of thelocation of the autonomous vehicle, a heading of the autonomous vehicle,and a speed of the autonomous vehicle. In some embodiments, the steeringangle is determined using a course correction trajectory informationthat includes a set of points that indicate a trajectory that minimizesa difference between the driving path information and a currenttrajectory of the autonomous vehicle, the current trajectory of theautonomous vehicle is defined by reduced set of location information ofthe autonomous vehicle and the heading of the autonomous vehicle, andthe course correction trajectory information depends on whether thespeed of the autonomous vehicle is greater than or equal to apre-determined threshold. In some embodiments, a maximum distancebetween any two points in the plurality of points is pre-determined. Insome embodiments, the fault condition is determined to occur in responseto determining that the computer has not received the followinginformation for more than a pre-determined length of time: anotherreduced set of location information for another location of theautonomous vehicle on the road, or another reduced set of trajectoryinformation that include another set of points on the road where theautonomous vehicle is expected to be driven.

In this document the term “exemplary” is used to mean “an example of”and, unless otherwise stated, does not imply an ideal or a preferredembodiment.

Some of the embodiments described herein are described in the generalcontext of methods or processes, which may be implemented in oneembodiment by a computer program product, embodied in acomputer-readable medium, including computer-executable instructions,such as program code, executed by computers in networked environments. Acomputer-readable medium may include removable and non-removable storagedevices including, but not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM), RandomAccess Memory (RAM), compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVD),etc. Therefore, the computer-readable media can include a non-transitorystorage media. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-or processor-executable instructions, associated data structures, andprogram modules represent examples of program code for executing stepsof the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of suchexecutable instructions or associated data structures representsexamples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions describedin such steps or processes.

Some of the disclosed embodiments can be implemented as devices ormodules using hardware circuits, software, or combinations thereof. Forexample, a hardware circuit implementation can include discrete analogand/or digital components that are, for example, integrated as part of aprinted circuit board. Alternatively, or additionally, the disclosedcomponents or modules can be implemented as an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) and/or as a Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) device. Some implementations may additionally or alternativelyinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) that is a specializedmicroprocessor with an architecture optimized for the operational needsof digital signal processing associated with the disclosedfunctionalities of this application. Similarly, the various componentsor sub-components within each module may be implemented in software,hardware or firmware. The connectivity between the modules and/orcomponents within the modules may be provided using any one of theconnectivity methods and media that is known in the art, including, butnot limited to, communications over the Internet, wired, or wirelessnetworks using the appropriate protocols.

While this document contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of an invention that is claimed orof what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specificto particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in thisdocument in the context of separate embodiments can also be implementedin combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment can also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination. Similarly, whileoperations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, thisshould not be understood as requiring that such operations be performedin the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that allillustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.

Only a few implementations and examples are described and otherimplementations, enhancements and variations can be made based on whatis described and illustrated in this disclosure.

1. A system for autonomous driving operation, comprising: a firstprocessor configured to: obtain, from a set of location information thatdescribes a location of an autonomous vehicle on a road, a reduced setof location information for a location of the autonomous vehicle;obtain, from a set of trajectory information that includes a set oflocation data associated with a plurality of points on the road wherethe autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven, a reduced set oftrajectory information that includes a reduced set of location dataassociated with the plurality of points; and send, to a secondprocessor, the reduced set of location information and the reduced setof trajectory information, the second processor configured to: receive,from the first processor, the reduced set of location information andthe reduced set of trajectory information; determine, based on thereduce set of trajectory information a driving path information wherethe autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven on the road; and inresponse to a determination of an occurrence of a fault condition on theautonomous vehicle: send a first instruction to cause the autonomousvehicle to steer the autonomous vehicle according to the driving pathinformation and the reduced set of location information of the locationof the autonomous vehicle.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein, for eachpoint in the set of trajectory information and the reduced set oftrajectory information, a size of location data associated with onepoint in the set of trajectory information is greater than that of acorresponding point in the reduced set of trajectory information.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the reduced set of location informationinclude a longitude value, a latitude reference value, and an altitudevalue obtained from the set of location information, and wherein each ofthe longitude value, the latitude reference value, and the altitudevalue is associated with a pre-determined numerical characteristic. 4.The system of claim 3, wherein the pre-determined numericalcharacteristic includes a whole number or a number with n-decimalplaces, wherein n is greater than or equal to
 1. 5. The system of claim3, wherein the set of location information describes the location of theautonomous vehicle using cartesian coordinates, and wherein the reducedset of location information is obtained by a conversion performed on theset of location information from the cartesian coordinates to sphericalcoordinates.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the reduced set oflocation information is sent to the second computer in a first set ofdata frames at a first pre-determined frequency, and wherein the reducedset of trajectory information is sent to the second computer in a secondset of data frames at a second pre-determined frequency.
 7. The systemof claim 6, wherein the second pre-determined frequency is greater thanthe first pre-determined frequency.
 8. The system of claim 6, whereineach data frame in the second set of data frames includes one or morelocations from the reduced set of location data and one or more indexvalues corresponding to the one or more locations.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein a total number of the plurality of points ispre-determined, and wherein the total number of the plurality of pointsis sent to the second computer.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein thereduced set of location information and the reduced set of trajectoryinformation includes geographic information with a precision that isless than that of the set of location information and the set oftrajectory information, respectively.
 11. A computer located in anautonomous vehicle, the computer comprising a processor, configured toimplement a method comprising: receive, from another computer located inthe autonomous vehicle, a reduced set of location information thatdescribes a location of the autonomous vehicle on a road, wherein thereduced set of location information includes information that is lessthan that associated with a set of location information for the locationof the autonomous vehicle; receive, from the another computer, a reducedset of trajectory information that includes a reduced set of locationdata associated with a plurality of points on the road where theautonomous vehicle is expected to be driven, wherein the reduced set oftrajectory information includes information that is less than thatassociated with a set of trajectory information that includes a set oflocation data associated with the plurality of points; determine adriving path information where the autonomous vehicle is expected to bedriven on the road based on the reduced set of trajectory information;and in response to a determination of an occurrence of a fault conditionthat indicates a failure of one or more devices on the autonomousvehicle: send a first instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle tosteer the autonomous vehicle according to the driving path informationand the reduced set of location information of the location of theautonomous vehicle.
 12. The computer of claim 11, wherein the reducedset of location data in the reduced set of trajectory information isdetermined based on the location of the autonomous vehicle and the setof location data associated with the plurality of points in the set oftrajectory information.
 13. The computer of claim 12, wherein thereduced set of location data in the reduced set of trajectoryinformation describe, for each point, a position information of a pointrelative to the location of the autonomous vehicle.
 14. The computer ofclaim 11, wherein the driving path information includes a set ofposition information along a fitted line that fits the plurality ofpoints associated with the reduced set of trajectory, wherein the fittedline is determined by an application of an n-th order polynomial to thereduced set of trajectory information, and wherein a value for n ispre-determined.
 15. The computer of claim 11, wherein the processor ofthe computer is configured to determine that the fault condition occursin response to a reception of a message that indicates that images orsensor data are not received from a plurality of cameras on theautonomous vehicle.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable programstorage medium having code stored thereon, the code, when executed by aprocessor, causing the processor to implement a method comprising:receiving, from a computer, a reduced set of location information thatdescribes a location of an autonomous vehicle on a road, wherein thereduced set of location information includes information that is lessthan that associated with a set of location information for the locationof the autonomous vehicle; receiving, from the computer, a reduced setof trajectory information that includes a reduced set of location dataassociated with a plurality of points on the road where the autonomousvehicle is expected to be driven, wherein the reduced set of trajectoryinformation includes information that is less than that associated witha set of trajectory information that includes a set of location dataassociated with the plurality of points; determining a driving pathinformation where the autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven on theroad based on the reduced set of trajectory information; and in responseto determining an occurrence of a fault condition that indicates afailure of one or more devices on the autonomous vehicle: sending afirst instruction to cause the autonomous vehicle to steer theautonomous vehicle according to the driving path information and thereduced set of location information of the location of the autonomousvehicle.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable program storage mediumof claim 16, wherein a steering angle with which the autonomous vehicleis steered is included in the first instruction to cause the autonomousvehicle to steer, and wherein the steering angle is determined based onthe driving path information, the reduced set of location information ofthe location of the autonomous vehicle, a heading of the autonomousvehicle, and a speed of the autonomous vehicle.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer readable program storage medium of claim 17, wherein thesteering angle is determined using a course correction trajectoryinformation that includes a set of points that indicate a trajectorythat minimizes a difference between the driving path information and acurrent trajectory of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the currenttrajectory of the autonomous vehicle is defined by reduced set oflocation information of the autonomous vehicle and the heading of theautonomous vehicle, and wherein the course correction trajectoryinformation depends on whether the speed of the autonomous vehicle isgreater than or equal to a pre-determined threshold.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable program storage medium of claim 16,wherein a maximum distance between any two points in the plurality ofpoints is pre-determined.
 20. The non-transitory computer readableprogram storage medium of claim 16, wherein the fault condition isdetermined to occur in response to determining that the computer has notreceived the following information for more than a pre-determined lengthof time: another reduced set of location information for anotherlocation of the autonomous vehicle on the road, or another reduced setof trajectory information that include another set of points on the roadwhere the autonomous vehicle is expected to be driven.